


Business

by AnnDerry



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: Badass Tommy Shelby, Consensual Sex, Dominant Tommy Shelby, F/M, Gangster Romance, High Stakes, Inspired By Peaky Blinders, Smut, Tommy Shelby always gets what he wants, Tommy Shelby is a boss, Tommy is in a mood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:48:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24614806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnDerry/pseuds/AnnDerry
Summary: Inspired by the scene in series 4 when Tommy confronts his factory foreman after the Italians break into his factory. I'm afraid Tommy 's moral compass is pointing towards hell in this one but I just could not help myself.
Relationships: Tommy Shelby/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 62





	Business

I sat in Tommy Shelby’s office with my hands in my lap trying to stay as calm as possible. Two of his men stood behind me in silence as we awaited the boss’s arrival. I’d not been in his gambling den before, not many women had unless they were members of his family or Peaky Blinders women. I worked in one of his many factories, helping the foreman with administrative tasks. I was fortunate enough to have a good education and I knew the factory inside out. Sometimes I made tea for visitors, serving it to them in the Boardroom. Women’s work, the foreman called it even though I practically ran the factory in all but name. 

The few interactions Mister Shelby and I had were few and far between. He was always polite and I had never seen him in a temper despite the fact that he was a powerful and ruthless gangster. I’d never seen anyone so handsome and well turned out. I kept my daydreams to myself. I was certain that I had never been noticed by him as he was always so busy. I could not be of any consequence to a man such as he. I could not imagine why I had been strong-armed from my house for an audience with him at so late an hour.

This office was dimly lit. The scent of tobacco, gunpowder, leather, and cologne in this room reminded me of the Boardroom at the factory with its expensive furniture and highly polished mahogany table. This room was smaller but no less intimidating. The door opened and the boss himself strode in. He didn’t look even look at me. Instead turned to one of his men who handed him a piece of paper that looked very familiar and took a seat in his chair.

‘What have you got for me, Finn?’ he said, accepting the paper and examining it closely. 

‘It’s a train ticket to Leeds,’ replied Finn. ‘Found it on her desk.’ 

At this point, Tommy Shelby’s piercing blue eyes met mine. Fury was written all over his face but yet he did not raise his voice. 

‘Your name is Avaline Burrows. You’ve worked for me for eighteen months. You started in December and all the men wanted to install a sprig of mistletoe in the kitchen just for you. You make a proper cup of tea, though when you pour mine out you bite your lip in concentration to stop your hands from shaking,’ he said. 

This assessment alarmed me greatly and my worry was not abated as he continued. 

‘This evening, my factory had some unwelcome visitors and do you know how they got in?’ he said.

I shook my head. ‘No, Mister Shelby, sir.’ 

‘Through the fucking back door,’ he snarled. ‘I’m told that you have access to all the keys. Is that correct?’ 

Absolute dread overcame me as I realised what he was implying. 

‘I do know where the keys are kept, yes but I would never...’

‘Was it fear or hatred that made you do it?’ he said not allowing me to finish my sentence as he lit a cigarette. ‘Think carefully before you answer.’

‘I don’t understand your question, sir,’ I answered as I attempted to regulate my breathing.

‘The people who asked for the keys. Did they threaten you or do you just hate the Shelby Company?’ Tommy withdrew a handgun from his holster and laid it on the desk in front of me. Even the men behind me shifted uncomfortably. 

I closed my eyes and said a silent prayer before answering truthfully. ‘Neither,’ I replied. 

‘Your parents fled the city two days ago,’ he said. 

‘They did not flee, sir. They are just retiring to Yorkshire. That’s where we are from.’

He picked up the train ticket. ‘This is a one-way ticket to Leeds. Explain.’

‘I bought it today on my break, Mister Shelby. To visit my parents.’ My panic grew as I watched the most feared gangster in Birmingham become more and more hostile. 

Tommy inhaled a lungful of smoke. ‘6 Tavistock Avenue, Buckley Green, Leeds,’ he said, exhaling a plume. 

A silent tear fell down my cheek. ‘Oh God. Please, Mister Shelby, sir. I’ve done nothing wrong.’

‘As of this moment, sweetheart,' he said as he leaned forward to place his hands on the desk. 'I'm your fucking God. Your family will only be safe at my discretion. We have alliances with Catholic gangs in Leeds. Convince me that you had nothing to do with it.’

‘The foreman gave me special permission to have an extended break to purchase that ticket today, sir. I didn’t feel safe enough to go after work in the evening. I told him that would mean that the office would be unmanned for an hour as he had a meeting of his own but he said that he would keep an eye out. The ticket is one way because I could not afford to buy a return. We have more family in Leeds. They promised to pay for my return fare.’ 

Tommy raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you saying I do not pay you enough?’ 

I shook my head so fast that I felt dizzy. ‘I would never complain, sir. Shelby Company has been very kind to me but my parents became scared living here with all the violence. They want me to settle in Yorkshire with them but I like working for you. Women can progress in your factories and I have ambition. 

He took a few moments to take in my speech then spoke to his men.

‘Finn, take Isaiah and pay the foreman a visit. Bring him here in an hour. No earlier. Go.’ 

His men did as he bid and left us alone. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as he watched me intently. Then he cleared his throat and poured whiskey from a decanter into two heavy crystal glasses. He handed me one. 

‘Drink,’ he ordered. 

‘I don’t drink liquor,’ I said.

‘You do now,’ he said.

The burning hit of whiskey calmed me. His head tilted to the side as if in deep thought, then he stood up, holstered his gun and made his way round to my side of the desk. He offered me his hand which I felt I had no choice but to take.

I could sense the power in his grip and could not help but notice that he was still holding on to me after I rose from my chair. We stood motionless and he seemed to be contemplating what to do next. He was close enough to smell his expensive cologne. My senses reeled as his thumb started to caress the inside of my wrist. 

‘Your pulse tells me that you are terrified, or excited or maybe both,’ he said in a low voice. 

My eyes dropped to his chest and I tried to focus on that instead of his penetrating gaze. His immaculate white shirt and silk tie, held in place by a solid gold tie pin that probably cost more than everything I owned. 

He tilted my chin upwards with a finger. ‘Look at me,’ he ordered softly.

Up close, his eyes were even bluer. Sapphire-like and sparkling with intent. 

‘What are you going to do with me, Mister Shelby,’ I asked shakily. 

His expression darkened. ‘I think I'm going to fuck you, Avaline,’ he said.

He backed me up against a sideboard. Now he was giving off another vibe, none less impactful but not what I would have ever expected. Not that it wasn’t unwelcome. Tommy Shelby was a handsome man who was much admired. I would be lying if I said I had not dreamt about intimate moments with him. 

‘I’ve had a really fucking bad day,’ he said. ‘Do you want to improve my evening?’ He checked his pocket watch. ‘Because, I’m probably going to have to kill a man in about forty-five minutes.’

I gasped. ‘The foreman?’

‘People who betray me and my family will die. It’s that simple.’

‘I trembled. ‘What happens if I say no?’ I asked.

Tommy raised his eyebrows and he flashed me the briefest of wry smiles. ‘I’m a fair man. The fact that you’ve got the self-respect to ask the question is admirable. I believe that you had no intention of betrayal. You can go back to making tea and we’ll never refer to this meeting ever again. Is that what you want?’ 

‘No, Mister Shelby.’

He came closer and brushed a knuckle down my cheek. 

‘Good. You’ll be living alone in Birmingham now? The factory you work in is small but I need people who I can trust. You say have ambition and are educated?’

‘Yes,’ I murmured, wondering what would happen next. My pulse raced at his nearness. ‘I have no brothers or sisters.’

‘Would you like to be protected? Earn more money?’

‘Yes, Mister Shelby,’ I whispered. Only a fool would refuse such an offer. 

‘Good,’ he said. ‘A lady foreman in charge of the factory would show how progressive the Shelby Company has become. From what I’ve seen, you run the factory and the foreman takes all the credit.’

‘But Mister Shelby, what of the men? Surely they will not like to take orders from a woman?’ I asked. This was a priceless opportunity but at what cost? A man would die to tonight and I would take his place. 

‘The workers will respect you or they will suffer.’ He strafed a thumb over my bottom lip causing my breathing to hitch. ‘Do you fear me?’ 

‘A little,’ I said. That was an understatement but I wanted him to think I was at least a little bit brave.

He nodded as if expecting that response. ‘Brave and honest as well as smart,’ he said before leaning in to kiss me. I enthusiastically responded as he brushed his full, pouty lips onto mine. I rucked my skirt up around my waist and he pushed my legs apart with his hips. His hand caressed my soft upper thighs, bare above my stockings, squeezing and raking his nails closer to my panty line. His tongue flicked mine expertly sending shooting sensations downwards. 

His kiss was sensual and soft but another part of him wasn’t. Urgently, he pulled my underwear aside, released himself, and drove into me in one fell swoop. I cried out as he dominated me, fucking me for his benefit, not mine, taking out all his frustrations. He was forceful but not brutal but I was left in no doubt that any affection he bestowed would be on his terms only. 

‘Do you have someone, Avaline?’ he asked between breaths. ‘A man in your life?’ 

‘Sort of,’ I whispered looking anywhere but his face. His hand encircled my throat and my eyes flew up in shock to meet his piercing gaze.

‘Don't lie to me when I’m still inside you,’ he whispered menacingly.

‘There is someone, I think he is going to ask me to marry him.’ 

‘Have you slept with him, yet?’ 

‘No, I have not. I have held myself back.’

‘But not with me? You’re just letting me fuck you anyhow I want.’ 

‘You’re Tommy Shelby,’ I said breathlessly. ‘Who would say no to you?’

‘I gave you a choice,’ he said.

‘And I said yes.’

‘The man that wants to marry you. Break it off,’ he ordered. 

‘But...’

‘Do it, or you’ll find him floating in the Cut. You only fuck me now. Whenever and wherever I want. No exceptions.’

‘Yes, Mister Shelby.’ This opportunity could secure my future more than any wedding ring could.

‘Good girl,’ he told me. 

When he was done, he peeled off some banknotes and pushed them into my hand. 

‘I’d rather not take the money for this,’ I told him. ‘It doesn’t feel right.’

‘Take it. That’s an order,’ he said. ‘Not for this evening, but an advance on your new role. There will be more coming as long as you stay loyal to me.’ 

‘Thank you.’

‘I’ll drive you home,’ he said. 

I’d never travelled in a private car before and his silver Bentley was the absolute height of luxury. It was rumoured that he had been given it by a Russian Duchess. 

He knew where I lived. He knew everything it seemed but then he owned my house too and all the houses on the surrounding streets. We pulled up outside my door. 

‘You can go,’ he said, dismissing me. 

I paused. ‘Mister Shelby, could I have my train ticket back, please. Tomorrow is Saturday and if I go to Leeds then I will be back Sunday night.’ I hoped he would show me some kindness but he seemed to be all business. 

‘No,’ he said. ‘I need you to work. Meet me at the factory office at eight o'clock. We need to plan for Monday and maybe, just maybe, I’ll drive you to Leeds myself tomorrow afternoon, alright? And no more mistering me. From now on you call me Tommy. You’re a Peaky Blinder now, one of us.’

‘Yes, Tommy. Thank you.’ 

I stepped out of the car knowing that my life had changed forever.


End file.
